


The Search For Purpose

by N1K0



Series: Galician Trilogy [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Gen, Original Character(s), Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-08 19:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18629608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N1K0/pseuds/N1K0
Summary: A young boy rescued by the Jedi is brought to the Temple and begins his training to one day become a proper Jedi himself. His life takes a turn when he is approached by two mysterious women who offer to train him instead. The story takes part before and during the Clone Wars and features many well known characters alongside many new and interesting ones.





	1. The Awakening

Star Wars: The Search for Purpose

Chapter 1: The Awakening (33 BBY)

It was a normal day at the Jedi temple on Coruscant. Jedi were conversing with each other, temple guards were walking around in their usual patrol patterns and Master’s were taking their Padawans to complete their lessons. Qui-Gon Jinn was walking to his quarters when suddenly he gets hit by a weird feeling. The force flowed through him in a weird way. It was trying to tell him something, so he went to his quarters as fast as he could to meditate about it in peace.

He entered his small quarters. They were bigger than the Jedi knight quarters but not by a lot. It only had a bed with a small chair by its side and a small drawer, so he could keep his belongings outside of plain sight. He kneeled down to the ground. He began to focus.

He woke up in the middle of a field. By the look of the vegetation around him he concluded that he was probably on Dantooine He stood up and took in his surroundings. He saw a small hill to his south, a camp to his east and a burning village ingulfed in fog to the west. He made his way to the village.

Qui-Gon made it to the village, but he couldn’t go through the fog. He was trying to find a way through until he heard crying coming from inside the village. 

“Who’s there?” he yelled. 

But there was no response and the crying continued. He continued to try and find a way through the fog. He was beginning to give up until a small outline of a human child appeared on the other side of the fog. The crying stopped.

“Who are you?” Qui-Gon asked with a concerned look on his face. The boy didn’t answer or move at all. Then another outline of a man that appeared to be wearing armor creeped up behind the boy, grabbed him and started pulling him away. 

Before the small child disappeared around the corner he managed to let out a scream “Help me, please!”.

As soon as Qui-Gon came to his senses, he stood up and headed straight to the landing platforms outside the temple. On the way there he encountered Obi-Wan. 

“Come with me now!” he demanded in a very serious tone as he walked past him. 

“Well somebody woke up on the wrong side of bed,” Obi-Wan thought to himself before he went after Qui-Gon. 

“Why are you in such a rush?” Obi-Wan put his hand on Qui-Gon’s shoulder and pulled him back to stop him. 

“I had a vision, we have to hurry. I’ll tell you about it on the ship.” They made their way to the ship and soon they were in hyperspace on their way to Dantooine.

“So, what you’re telling me is that you think somebody attacked a village in the middle of nowhere on a peaceful planet and kidnapped a child,” Obi-Wan said, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. 

“Well that’s what my vision told me,” Qui-Gon said, sitting in the captain’s chair. 

“Do you know where the village is?” Obi-Wan asked. 

“No, not yet at least. But I’m sure we’ll learn the location quickly. Dantooine doesn’t have many populated areas. The only really populated areas are the old Jedi enclave and a couple of villages around it,” Qui-Gon answered, putting his hand under his chin as if it helped him think.

They landed on Dantooine and not long after that they intercepted a couple of that were about to leave town. Qui-Gon inquired about the village he saw in his vision. Luckily for them one of the two men they stopped knew of the location and pointed them in the correct way.

By nightfall they made it to the outskirts of the village. They went up to the top of a small hill to scout out the area with their macrobinoculars. 

“I don’t see anything,” Obi-Wan said in a confused tone. 

The village seemed completely normal. No signs of struggle or anything. It was late so there weren’t many people outside but many of the houses were still lit up.

“That’s odd,” Qui-Gon remarked. 

They hopped back onto their speeder bikes and proceeded to the village. As they got closer and closer Qui-Gon started feeling an odd presence – a force signature stronger than any but his and his Padawan’s. Whoever he was looking for, they were definitely there.

Stopping their bikes and dismounting them, they continued their conversation. “Do you sense that?” Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan. He was talking about the powerful Force presence.

“I do,” he confirmed with a firm nod.

Qui-Gon reached out to the Force to guide him and in a couple of moments he was able to pinpoint the direction. “Come.”

The sudden sound of a struggle quickened their pace. Qui-Gon stopped at a corner of a building, Obi-Wan following his lead. Qui-Gon could make out 4 armored and armed people standing outside the door of a house.

“Just give us the damn kid,” a raspy voice demanded. The voice was a bit muffled, meaning that whoever said that more than likely wore some sort of head protection.

“We should intervene,” Obi-Wan suggested already shifting his weight forward only to be stopped by Qui-Gon’s hand.

“Patience.” Meanwhile the struggle continued.

“No!” a woman cried out. 

“Lady don’t make us hurt you,” a different person warned her.

“Why do you out of all people need him?” the same woman screamed at them again.

“A job’s a job lady. We don’t ask questions.”

“Marfri be reasonable,” a new voice, this time a completely clear one said.

The woman cried loudly before responding. “You’re willing to give up our child? You coward,” she screamed at him all the while still crying loudly. 

The noise of the confrontation began attracting attention but as soon as the other villagers saw the armed men they ran back home or turned their lights off and probably locked their doors.

“They’ll get him anyway,” he tried to calm her. “The only difference will be if we live or die.”

“Then I’d rather die!” the woman yelled. All of the sudden a flash of red light could be seen with the sound of a blaster firing.

One of the armored men dropped to one knee while the other three raised their own blasters and began firing at the door and a few seconds later the encounter was over, and everything went quiet. The only thing that could be heard was one of the armored men barking orders. Two of them helped their wounded brother up and led him away while the other entered the house and came out moments after, dragging a crying child behind him.

“Master, why didn’t we do anything?” Obi-Wan asked a bit too loud for comfort. It was the first time in ages Qui-Gon sensed emotional turmoil within him.

Jinn sighed. “It was as the Force willed. They had a choice and we saw what their decision was. If we got involved do you think anything would’ve happened differently,” Jinn reasoned. “At least now we still have the element of surprise. Come on, let’s follow them.”

Obi-Wan obviously wasn’t happy about the situation but there was nothing Qui-Gon could do about it. If they got involved the situation could’ve ended in the same way.

The 4 men jumped into a speeder and rode off into the grasslands with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan sticking back just far enough that they could about make out where they were going. The dark nights and many hills that they encountered on the way didn’t help their chase but after a grueling ten or so minutes of chasing them a dim light appeared in the distance. Seeing the speeder stop close to it, the two Jedi stopped and got off their bikes and began to make their way to the light.

Back in the village Qui-Gon couldn’t make out what kind of armor the men were wearing but after seeing it lit up by the light that turned out to just be a campfire, he could easily make out that the men were in fact Mandalorians. He had dealt with them before – he had even spent a year on Mandalore protecting the now ruler of Mandalore Duchess Satine Kryze from various insurgent groups and bounty hunters who were out for her head. During his time there he had learned that Mandalorians can be the most formidable of opponents.

“Mandalorian bounty hunters,” his Padawan whispered.

“And a formidable group at that,” Qui-Gon added. The count of Mandalorians grew from four to six. The two that awaited them at their camp had already started taking care of the wounded one. One of the other three put the child in binders while the other two appeared to be talking to somebody over a holoprojector.

The Jedi moved even closer to a tree that was very close to the camp. There they could just about hear what they were talking about.

“Do you have the child?” the man in the hologram asked. His voice was very loud with a clear hint of annoyance in his tone.

“We do. We’ll bring him to you tomorrow just like we arranged,” the bounty hunter answered.

“I’m afraid that the conditions of our agreement have changed. I require the child now.”

“What’s with the haste? He’s just a kid.”

“There have been certain complications I would like both of our parties to avoid,” the man said.

“What sort of complications?” the Mandalorian asked.

“A Jedi Master has been seen landing on this planet earlier today.”

“That is problematic,” he agreed. “Fine. We’ll get him to you as fast as possible, but you’ll pay us more.”

“Certainly. My master is a wealthy man, he will reward you more than handsomely for your services.” And with that the holoprojection turned off.

“Well boys let’s pack up we’re heading out early,” the bounty hunter who had been speaking to the man in the holo ordered.

“What do we do?” Obi-Wan asked.

“I’ll grab their attention while you go around and disable their speeder,” Qui-Gon said immediately starting for the bounty hunters after, leaving his padawan with no chance to argue with his order and it wasn’t like Obi-Wan did ever argue against his orders.

“Gentlemen,” Jinn called out loud enough to grab their attention. “You seem to have taken something that isn’t yours.”

“Jedi!” their leader said and, in a moment’s notice a flurry of yellow blaster bolts were flying his way. He managed to role away into a small dip in the ground, just about evading the blaster fire. The heavy blaster fire continued for a couple of moments before stopping.

“Get to the speeder!” one of the bounty hunters yelled out loud.

Jinn poked his head out only to be met with a blaster bolt hitting the ground next to him, burning the grass. Then he sat back and waited until…

“It isn’t working!”

Qui-Gon used that moment to jump out of the dip and activate his green lightsaber. Catching the mandalorians off-guard as they started to disembark from their disabled speeder, he made up as much ground as possible before they started shooting at him once again. 

The first shot that hit him he managed to deflect back at its source, right in the man’s abdomen. Him being alone against now five or actually four and a half Mandalorian bounty hunters with no cover around would be a nearly impossible fight to win if he didn’t have backup in the form of Obi-Wan who emerged, jumping over the speeder and engaging them from the other side.

Their attention split between the two Jedi, the resulting blaster fire on both sides reduced to the point where it was possible to accurately deflect. One of the bounty hunters seemingly aware of that used his jetpack to get high up but found himself unconscious moments later after Qui-Gon used the Force to propel him straight into the tree he and Obi-Wan were hiding behind earlier. Kenobi in the meantime managed to take out the already wounded Mandalorian from earlier and was on the brink of defeating the other one. And he did just that at the same time as Qui-Gon deflected a blaster bolts straight back at the Mandalorian’s head.

With that silence overtook the calm windy plains once again and the two Jedi were left alone with bunch of smoking bodies.

“Where did the kid go?” Obi-Wan asked.

“There,” Qui-Gon said pointing at the dip he was hiding in earler.

As the two approached the dip the sound of sobbing became louder and louder. When the boy saw them he began backing off clumsily. He was afraid and in shock, so Qui-Gon used the Force to calm him down.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” Obi-Wan told the boy.

“Who are you?” the boy asked.

“I am Qui-Gon and this is Obi-Wan,” he answered. “And what is your name?”

“I’m Cindo. T-thank you for saving me.”

“No thanks are required,” Obi-Wan said with a smile while his master carefully removed the braces with his lightsaber. “It is what we were taught to do.”

“And it is also what you could be taught to do,” Qui-Gon added.

“Me? Why?”

“You are a powerful boy. You posses the ability to use something that not many others can, the Force. We can teach you how to use it if you’re willing come with us.”

“I don’t really have a choice do I?” Tears began forming in Cindo’s eyes. The shock and fear he had experienced from being so close to a battle made him forget about what happened earlier but the memories began coming back.

“We’re sorry about your family,” Qui-Gon said, putting a hand on his shoulder gently. “We were too late to do anything.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“Why did you bring us here?”_

_“There has been a shift in the Force. Have you sensed it?”_

__

__

_“Yes. We both did.”_

__

__

_“Then you know what this is about.”_

__

__

_“The boy.”_

__

__

_“He is the last of our bloodline and in the coming times I fear that he will not survive.”_

__

__

_“What do you wish us to do?”_

__

__

_“The boy needs guidance. Whether it be through good or bad you two need to guide him and teach him lest he falls to the dark side.”_

__

__

_“We will not let that happen.”_


	2. Initiation

Chapter 2: Initiation (33 BBY)

To become a Jedi was to forget your past life. Everything from your family, friends, the things that belonged to you, all those things had to be left behind to become a Jedi. For the older people this might’ve seemed understandable and not too drastic of a measure to take to protect the galaxy but for a 5-year-old child who had just lost his parents it was completely different. 

Was he just supposed to let all the memories fade into nothing? 

For the other younglings who were taken from their homes on their parents’ accord at a younger age than his it was different. They would feel proud of joining the order and through years of hard physical and mental training their memories of their family would fade into nothingness only to be replaced with a lifelong oath to the order, but Cindo had formed a strong bond with his parents as he was taught that family was the most important thing in life. And that was the only small consolidation – Qui-Gon had told him that the Jedi would become his new family. But it still didn’t wipe away the things that happened a mere day ago.

The ship they travelled on landed on top of a large building and the trio emerged out the door on its left side. Cindo was so mesmerized by the endless kilometers of large skyscrapers and traffic just gliding across the sky that he failed to notice the five large spires that were on the roof of the building. On Dantooine he had seen nothing but his and a couple of other villages. Coruscant on the other hand was an endless sprawling metropolis. He couldn’t have helped but gasp and forget everything for just a moment so he could enjoy the breathtaking view.

“It is quite mesmerizing isn’t it?” Qui-Gon said standing next to him on top of the stairs that led down to the floor of the landing pad. “Come.”

They took one of the many elevators downwards into the building. The doors moved to the side, revealing a hallway so enormous you could probably park a ship in it with next to no trouble. Decorating this hallway were banners, tapestries, pottery, small statuettes and paintings.

“You can go Obi-Wan. I’ll take him to the council,” Qui-Gon said.

“Of course, Master,” his Padawan answered with a bow of his head.

Qui-Gon led Cindo through many similar exquisite hallways. They took another elevator, this time up. They arrived in a half-circle shaped with two long windows, one on each side winding the entire way up to the wall where a single door was. 

“Where are we?” Cindo asked. He was so mesmerized by everything else that he forgot to ask a basic question.

“The Jedi temple,” Qui-Gon answered. “Your new home.” He walked past Cindo and walked through the doorway with Cindo following closely behind. 

The room they entered was identical in shape and size the main difference being the twelve chairs that were evenly spread out in a nearly full circle starting at both sides of the doorway. A human with dark skin and a Zabrak stood by one of the windows discussing something.

“Master Jinn.”

“Master Windu, Kolar,” Qui-Gon greeted back.

The two Jedi Masters approached the middle of the room where Cindo was standing.

“Potential younglings are to be given to the Temple creche,” Windu informed him with a raised brow.

“This one was not on the list,” Qui-Gon said.

“Hmm… What is your name?”

“I’m Cindo,” he answered.

“He’s of correct age but I sense emotional turmoil within him. Fear and sadness,” Windu analyzed.

“There was an unfortunate event. He got abducted by some Mandalorian bounty hunters. His mother tried to protect him but her and her husband both got shot by them.”

Even the shortest of summaries of what happened on that forsaken night a mere day shook him to his core. He would’ve… He wanted to break down and cry but it was a moment where he needed to remain brave, after all that was what his parents taught him – to be brave.

“A most unfortunate event,” Kolar sympathized. “Cindo listen to me. To become a Jedi is to let go of yourself and your emotions. Your current life will be replaced with a life of learning and keeping peace across the galaxy. There is a danger in lingering on past dark events, so I ask you, will you be able to forget what happened? Are you willing to let your past and your family go?”

Those were hard questions for anybody, but for Cindo they were nearly complicated enough to where he didn’t understand most of them. But what he was able to figure out was that this was his opportunity to start anew, with a new family and new and different challenges. But even if he didn’t think about it there was only one answer. He had no family left and nobody to go to.

“I will try,” Cindo answered.

“Do or do not, there is no try,” a voice from behind him suddenly said. Cindo turned and saw a small green creature with pointy ears walking slowly towards them with the help of a walking stick. “Answer the question again you shall, yes,” he added.

“I will forget, I promise,” Cindo said.

“Promise not to us, but to yourself, you should. Now go, your clan, waiting for you it is.”

 

_1 year later…_

_“There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.”_

The Jedi code, the philosophy that was at the heart of the Jedi order. Every Jedi knew was required to know it by heart but not only to know how to recite it but to know what each of the five precepts means. Cindo had been reciting it as many times as he could, trying to get an understanding about what it means. The soft orange light coming from outside the Temple warmed his face and helped him focus. 

“That’s about the thirty-sixth time you’ve recited this today,” Ahsoka mocked him. She was standing where the door was on the opposite side of their clan’s room. 

Cindo was part of the Clawmouse clan. After his evaluation by the High Council he had been brought to the Temple creche and given over to the Jedi caretakers. He had thought that for a boy like him – a human with some features of the Togruta species like slightly orange skin tan and sharp canine teeth that had been passed down through his family for generations. His expectations did not meet reality to his relief. Ahsoka had been the first to approach him and quickly she became Cindo’s first friend in the order. For the other eight younglings in the clan it had taken some time for him to get to know them. He had been given new attire – a tan tunic, a leather belt and leather shoes. 

For the most part he had been following every single one of the instructions he had been given except for one – to give away all his personal belongings. Cindo had no problem giving away everything he had brought with him except for one thing, a necklace with a locket his parents had given him for his fifth birthday only a few days before they were murdered. On the first day he had been asked to forget his past, but for a young boy shaken by the death of his parents such a thing was impossible to do. To just forget the people that had brought him up and taken care of him, to forget the people that are the reason he exists, it was impossible to do. He headed the warning Master Kolar gave him about the past, yet he could just not forget no matter how hard he tried. So, he decided, that instead on focusing about forgetting he would work hard, giving it his all and then through time hopefully forgetting about everything, but he knew that wasn’t a possibility until he got rid of the locket, but there was till time he was telling himself. 

“The code is the reason why the Jedi exist,” Cindo reminded his friend. “Or at least that’s what they tell us.” 

“They tell us to be good and do good. What’s so hard to understand about that?” 

Cindo had to admit Ahsoka had a point. No matter how deep a person’s understanding of the code was it really boiled down to just that, only missing the don’t let your emotions guide your actions part. 

“Nothing really however I find that thinking about the simplest of things deeply and trying to form your own understanding of why they’re perceived the way they are broadens one’s horizon,” Cindo explained. 

Ahsoka laughed in response. “You talk like a politician.” 

“It’s hard not to pick something up from the dozens of speeches we had to listen to in politics class.” 

“True,” Ahsoka agreed, shrugging. 

In his short life on Dantooine he didn’t receive any proper education. Schools were few and far between and were quite costly so the parents of children that lived in the villages decided to educate their offspring themselves, so there was a varying amount of intelligence in each village. Cindo had learned mathematics and the rules of Galactic basic alongside some things about the wildlife on Dantooine and of course, farming. However in the Temple they had many more subjects and they were taught in way more detail, even to the point where you would think that what they were teaching you was completely useless. 

One of these subjects in particular stuck with Cindo as interesting and quickly became his favorite class – history. He just found something immensely satisfying about the past, whether be how planets and species were discovered, how hyperspace travel began, how the Jedi and the long ruined Sith order battled for control of the galaxy multiple times, these were the events he found immense interest in learning about them. 

“Do you want to do something fun or…” Ahsoka began before being rudely interrupted. 

“Hey Cindo, I got the books you wanted,” Raz'yel, a Pantoran from their clan said. “Oh hey, Ahsoka,” he added after noticing her. 

Although Togruta genes had been a part of Cindo's family for generations he had never seen a Togruta until he met Ahsoka. He found her odd, but he quickly got used to her yet Raz'yel who was a Pantoran, a near-human race, still freaked him out. It was due to the fact that he had completely black eyes, a feature that still made Cindo uncomfortable. Otherwise Raz'yel was a completely normal Pantoran, having the usual blue skin adored with white and yellow markings and short white hair with the slightest hint of purple you could easily overlook. 

“I guess that answers my questions,” Ahsoka said rolling her eyes. 

“Don’t worry,” Cindo assured her as Raz’yel passed him the holobooks. “I’ll just put these away and we can go do something.” 

__“How is he progressing?”_ _

___“He’s doing fine. He’s been doing well in all his classes and from what we can see his eagerness to learn knows no bounds.”_ _ _

____“And he has also become quite the little historian.”_ _ _ _

_____“That is good to hear. Are you suppressing his Force signature as I ordered?”_ _ _ _ _

______“Yes Aloysius, we are doing everything we can, but this bloodline connection only allows us to do so much.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_______“It will have to be enough for now.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______ _ _ _ _ _

________2 years later…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

It was a day like any other. Practice, practice, practice and of course classes were the schedule for today as they were for any other. As the members of the clan grew older they learned more and more sophisticated things in their classes. They went from solely training against training droids, learning how to even wield a lightsaber, to slowly going through each fighting technique with their instructors to nearly being at a point where they could begin sparring with each other. Nearly. 

To be able to spar younglings had to go through a process which began with the thing they’ve been doing for years – deflecting bolts from training probes. And as an extra obstacle they would be blindfolded and left to rely on their atonement to the Force which should’ve at this point in their training be good enough to get them through the first challenge. Daily meditation requirements helped them improve their connection, so this challenge showed the instructors who had been meditating and who had been focusing on the things they shouldn’t have. 

The Clawmouse clan had been called up to the training rooms in the morning to undergo the first challenge. The ten-youngling strong clan had been the top performing one out of all five that were in the same age group. All of seven of the members who conducted the first challenge had finished it successfully and now it was Cindo’s turn as Jedi Master Kit Fisto called his name. 

Lira, the Rodian member of clan Clawmouse, passed him the practice saber and helmet that acted as a blindfold. Cindo put on the helmet and tightly gripped the practice lightsaber with both hands. He didn’t want to admit it to himself but he was nervous. 

_“Breathe,”_ a quiet female voice in his head suddenly said. _“Trust in the Force. Do as you were taught, let it guide you.”_

He took a deep breath and relaxed his grip a bit. He didn’t recognize the voice but he did as he was told. He opened up to the Force and as the probe buzzed high up into the air, he too lifted up his saber. With every blocked bolt he felt himself working alongside the Force. Every movement of his arms and legs was in perfect sync as he deflected the incoming projectiles with ease until the rain of bolts stopped. 

Cindo had done this exact exercise dozens if not hundreds of times in these three years but he had never felt so light and powerful in his life. It felt as if the Force gave him complete vision and understanding of the entire room and every single thing in it. From his fellow clan members that cheered for him after he had finished the challenge to the probe slowly descending back to the ground to master Fisto’s satisfied smile, he could see and hear all of it with the helmet on. It was truly an odd sensation. 

_“Impressive I have to say.”_

_“He has potential we can’t deny that.”_

_“No, we can’t.”_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Jedi Training (30 BBY)

Ever since the completion of the first challenge Cindo had been thinking about what happened. The sudden feeling of perfect atonement to the Force he had experienced but mostly he had been thinking about the voice that guided him. A woman that he had never heard before with a slightly augmented voice. Even after hours and hours of pondering he didn’t even come close to matching the voice to a face.

 

A freighter passing very low over the temple broke his train of thought and he remembered why he was on the roof in the first place. Cindo told his friends he was going off to meditate in one of the rooms of the Temple but in reality, he came to the roof to be alone. Sure, he probably wouldn’t have been interrupted in one of the many small white-walled meditation rooms, but he didn’t like taking risks as if he was found doing what he was doing he could’ve been expelled from the order.

 

Cindo pulled the locket his parents gave him from beneath his tunic. The locket which had been undiscovered for three years ate at his soul. He didn’t come up here every couple of days to reminisce, he came here to keep the promise he made to himself – to let go. Yet every single time he couldn’t bring himself to throwing it away. So, every single time he would leave the roof with the locket still on him and it looked like this day wouldn’t be any different than the rest. Another ship passing over the Temple blew his dark brown hair over his eyes.

 

“Long hair doesn’t fit you at all,” Lira said from behind.

 

Cindo nervously hid the locket back in his tunic and turned around. “I know,” he agreed brushing his hair to the left. “What are you doing up here?”

“We were all searching for you. It’s practice time remember?”

 

It was nearly the time for their second and third challenge which were conducted at the same time. The second challenge was demonstrating that the younglings had developed enough to where they mastered one of the standard fighting techniques or a technique they made that suited them the best. They would have to use that technique in a sparring match against a clanmate – which was the third challenge. Cindo, Raz’yel, Ahsoka and Lira had agreed to practice together so they could more easily see their mistakes.

 

“Oh yeah, I completely forgot. Let’s go then.”

 

Through the years the younglings were taught all the Jedi lightsaber forms from I to VI. There was also a seventh one called Vapaad, but due to it being very hard to learn alongside it leading many of its practitioners to the dark side it was never taught, and younglings were told to stay away from it. Cindo had gone through every form, reading about them and practicing with them but he didn’t feel comfortable with a single one.

 

He and Lira arrived at the training room. The youngling training rooms were smaller and had matts on the ground which helped with preventing injuries. Ahsoka and Raz’yel were already there at the time of their arrival swinging their practice lightsabers. They weren’t allowed to spar with each other yet so the air would have to do.

 

Cindo grabbed a lightsaber from the rack on the wall directly to the left of the door and moved away from the other three as to not distract them.

 

Form I or Shii-Cho as it was called was the first ever proper lightsaber technique. Its goal was to target specific zones on the target’s body and wasn’t specialized for any type of opponent. If mastered the user’s movements would be sporadic and unpredictable but getting to that point took time.

 

Form II known as Makashi was derived from Form I but it focused heavily on one-on-one lightsaber dueling with its precise and minimal movements. The goal of the form was to outmaneuver the opponent with fancy footwork and quick jabs, but the form became impossible to use effectively against bigger groups of enemies unless it had been mastered to perfection by the user.

 

Form III was the most popular form. Soresu as it was otherwise called was a form that focused heavily on defense and waiting for the opponent to make a mistake. The form was seen as the ultimate expression of non-aggressive Jedi philosophy, yet the almost excessive defensive style was the main reason for its user’s defeat.

 

Form IV or Ataru was the exact opposite of Soresu. It was and extremely aggressive form where the user would close up the gap to their opponents as fast as possible and mostly evade the attacks rather than block them, allowing for quick retaliation strikes.

 

Form V, better known as Djem So was similar to Ataru only that instead of speed it relied on strength. Rather than waiting for an opportunity Djem So users would create it themselves with powerful strikes that weakened the opponent’s defensive capabilities.

 

And last but not least Form VI or Niman was a form created almost exclusively for double-bladed lightsaber users. The form was practically out of use completely as double-bladed lightsabers had almost all but vanished yet the few users there were kept it alive.

 

And that was what Cindo had to work with. Six styles of fighting. He slowly went through all the forms except for Niman, slowly going through all the motions and thinking about what suited him the best. He was disappointed to learn that with every single form he felt like something was missing. Even when he thought of a combination of forms and tried them out, something was still amiss, so he decided on adding another lightsaber.

 

“Hey, Ahsoka,” he said. “Can you lend me your practice saber for a bit?” he asked her as she appeared to be taking a break.

 

“Sure,” she happily obliged.

 

At first Cindo held both sabers normally. Going through the motions, he concluded that it just felt too off, so he attempted holding both in a reverse grip. That didn’t go much better as he found himself lost most of the time, so he went to the last option that at the time of thinking about it seemed stupid. He kept the saber in his dominant right hand in a normal grip while having the other saber in a reverse grip. He also shortened the reverse gripped saber’s length. And all the pieces slowly began fitting together.

 

In the beginning Cindo attempted to spread the amount of attacks evenly which ended feeling just as clumsy as his other two attempts. He adjusted by using his reverse grip saber less, only using it for quick slashes and faints every couple of swings, and that was what he ended up with. He still felt that he was way off from using the form he just made up properly but if he put enough time in, the uniqueness of the form would surely provide him with some sort of advantage.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“… So all in all the Jedi Knight role has remained similar if not identical through the entire history of our order, but the same can not be said for the Jedi Service Corps. Dating back around three thousand years ago the group was called Jedi Consulars and they had a very similar job, only that they were placed in specific roles instead of corps where they are assigned temporary roles in the specific corps. There were Jedi healers, ambassadors, diplomats, lore keepers, researchers, seers and many, many more.”

 

“They were some of the brightest and most talented minds of the order. There was even a role called an artifact hunter whose members solely focused on roaming the galaxy in search for ancient artifacts lost to time and war. One of these artifact hunters was even named Barsen’thor, a role only bestowed twice before her.”

 

The instructor activated a hologram depicting a human woman with long brown hair reaching past her soldiers, bearing Old Republic era Jedi armor.

 

_“That’s odd…”_

_“What?”_

_“I don’t ever remember wearing anything like that. And my face isn’t all screwed up.”_

_“To be fair it’s only half of your… Sorry.”_

_“It’s fine. The day that happened to me is the day my eyes finally opened up to the truth. If that hadn’t happened who knew if we would’ve ever met.”_

 

“This is the only depiction of her we have, even her name has been lost. Her connection to the Force was beyond anything the order has ever seen. The title of Barsen’thor is only given to the most exceptional Jedi. Our records state that she gained the rank by showing great self-sacrifice – giving away her power to heal and save the lives of many people when she was a mere Padawan.”

 

Cindo read about Barsen’thor in a book detailing the greatest Old Republic Jedi. Her section was different to many others as the information the later he got in her life got more and more scarce until suddenly there was nothing and a new Jedi appeared on the next page. Most of the Jedi’s lives were well documented – going as far as the time and place of their deaths but hers cut off more than abruptly.

 

“ _I remember you telling me about that.”_

_“I hope you also remember me telling you how much it hurt and that the pain was endless until I could finally stop shielding them.”_

_“You sound like you didn’t enjoy being the hero.”_

_“Sometimes there were moments where I started questioning if any of it was worth it.”_

_“That doesn’t sound like something a Jedi would say.”_

_“Former Jedi. And I don’t know if I even was a proper Jedi when I was in the Order. Maybe under my first Master, Hiram, but when Coruscant fell everything changed. There were these demons haunting me that I couldn’t get out of my head.”_

_“I remember you telling me about Hiram. Sounds like he was a great Master.”_

_“He sure was one of a kind.”_

_\---------------------------------------------------------------_

 

Being given permission to spar wasn’t only a good way of becoming better in combat it was also a necessary test to pass if one wished to even begin the initiate trials. The Gathering where younglings would get their lightsaber crystals and create their lightsabers did not only have that limitation it also required the youngest member of the clan to be nine years of age as the whole clan would attend the sacred event together. So, to not drag their clan down they had all been working hard for the past few months, choosing and perfecting their technique as much as they could.

 

“A few quick rules before you may begin,” Cin Drallig, the Order’s battlemaster started. The sparring challenge required that at least one master and two other Jedi ranked Padawan or above observed the event. To Cindo’s satisfaction one of the two other observers was Obi-Wan, the man who had helped save him from the bounty hunters. His master Qui-Gon had lost his life a few years prior on Naboo.

 

“This challenge will be held in a best-of-three format. There will be no direct hits. If a direct hit is unavoidable so be it but if it’s not you will automatically lose a round. Don’t forget to use your training and use it well. May the Force be with you.”

 

He stepped back in line with Kenobi and what Cindo could only think of as Kenobi’s or Drallig’s Padawan.

 

“The first to spar will be Raz’yel and Cindo,” Kenobi announced.

 

The members of Clawmouse clan anxiously stepped away from the crowd and took up their positions with their sabers in hand. From their training together, Cindo was not only able to get his friend’s thoughts, he was also able to observe them and their fighting styles.

 

“Get ready,” Obi-Wan said and the two younglings settled into their battle stances. Cindo turned slightly to the right and kept his sabers close to his body.

 

“Begin.”

 

They immediately dashed at each other. Raz’yel attacked first which proved to be fatal, as Cindo used his right hand to not only block but push his friend’s lightsaber further away, leaving enough room for him to comfortably place his off-hand saber right next to his head, granting him a lightning fast round win which was met by cheers from the crowd of younglings.

 

The combatants returned to their positions and waited. After Kenobi gave them the go-ahead they lunged at each other again. Raz’yel adjusted by keeping a fair distance between himself and Cindo. Cindo began growing impatient as his opponent kept going from the left to the right, dodging and blocking his attacks. At one point he became infuriated by the constant blocking, so he threw himself at Raz’yel with everything he had. Cindo lost his balance for just a moment after a flurry of strikes which allowed Raz’yel to spin off to the right and put his saber right next to his chest which granted him the win.

 

_“Remember, show restraint,”_ the same augmented voice from the bolt deflection challenge said.

 

The two went back to their starting positions for one last time and when Obi-Wan signaled for them to begin only Raz’yel charged this time. Cindo patiently awaited the fast strikes Raz’yel would throw at him. He blocked each and every swing directed at him while going for quick retaliation strikes and faints in hope of forcing his opponent into a mistake. And a mistake he made, as to Raz’yel’s surprise Cindo quickly switched his off-hand saber into a normal grip and thrusted the weapon towards him, forcing Raz’yel to awkwardly twist his whole body to block the stab, leaving him completely exposed and granting Cindo the win.

 

They turned off their lightsabers and bowed to each other before putting the practice sabers back into the rack and returning to the group. The verdict was be given after all the younglings had sparred. Every member of clawmouse clan successfully completed the challenges not only granting them the ability to spar whenever but also giving the whole clan the right to attend the Gathering when they were old enough to do so.

 

“Cindo is it?” Cin Drallig asked. He had asked him to stay after class.

 

“Yes, Master,” Cindo replied.

 

“Your technique – it is as interesting and unique as it is unrefined. What do you say if I help you with it?”

 

“It would be a great honor,” Cindo said bowing his head. The thought of the Jedi Battlemaster himself training him personally excited him.

 

_“He’s growing up so fast.”_

_“Don’t start crying on me now.”_

_“You know very well that I’m devoid of the ability to show any emotion.”_

_“You tell yourself that, but I could clearly see you smile only moments ago.”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”_

_\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_A few days later…_

After another hard day of classes clawmouse clan could finally rest. All of his clanmates were already deep in their sleep but Cindo just couldn’t fall asleep. Whenever he tried to so weird noises would start playing in his head. Doors constantly opening and closing, footsteps and the weirdest of all, his father’s favorite song would play faintly in the background for a couple of moments before disappearing.

 

Forcing himself to sleep wasn’t working so he decided to meditate instead. He got up into a sitting position on his bed and crossed his legs. Putting his hands on his knees he closed his eyes and emptied his mind.

 


End file.
